The Kansas Department of Labor released the latest unemployment number that reflect where things stood in February.

Once again, the numbers in our area show a slight increase over January numbers which had also increased. The Hutchinson rate in February was at 7.1%, up from 6.8 in January. But, that’s still lower then February of last year when the number was at 7.6%. In February, 1,514 residents of the city were unemployed, while 19, 791 people had jobs.

Reno County’s number stood in February at 5.8%, up from 5.6% in January, but less then the 6.3% we saw at the same time last year.

Harvey County stayed the same at 6.6%, while Kingman County’s rate increased slightly to 5.1% in February, up from 4.8% in January. McPherson County also saw a slight increase going to 4.5%, up from 4.2%. Rice County rate went from 4.3% in January to 4.7% in February. Sedgwick County’s rate went from 7.8% in January to 7.9% in February

Stafford County was the only county in the area that actually saw a decrease. There rate went from 5.3% in January to 5.1% in February.

Over-all, Kansas gained 18,300 non-farm jobs since February 2011, a 1.4 percent increase. The private sector gained 21,300 jobs, showing a continued decline in government jobs since February 2011. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for February 2012 was 6.1 percent. This is a decrease from 6.9 percent unemployment in February 2011 and the same as January 2012.

Eight of the 11 major industries in Kansas reported job gains during the past year. The professional and business services industry has gained 11,900 jobs since February 2011, an 8.2 percent increase.